Gators combine to walk nearly 3,000,000 Yards for Yeardley

Gators combine to walk nearly 3,000,000 Yards for Yeardley

SAGE STUDENT-ATHLETES AND COMMUNITY JOINED FORCES TO WALK NEARLY THREE MILLION YARDS FOR YEARDLEY

Albany, NY- The Sage Colleges' student-athletes in conjunction as well as the Sage Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) partnered with the Sage Office of Residence Life and members of Sage's community to sponsor the Yards for Yeardley event last month. The goal was to run and or walk 1,000,000 yards to raise awareness of domestic violence. The Sage community combined to nearly walk three times as many yards as planned as Sage's participants walked 2,906,371 yards last month. The kickoff event on April 6 was attended by 136 Sage student-athletes, while the event had nearly 200 community members participate throughout the month of April.

As April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the SAAC and Sage Office of Residence Life all teamed up to host Sage's first "Yards for Yeardley" event.  The Gators pledged to run a million yards in honor of Yeardley Love and the OneLove foundation and we need your help!

April 3-9 marked the sixth annual celebration of the NCAA's D3 Week. In conjunction with the week, which commemorated the true essence of Division III athletics, which involves the full integration of our student-athletes into the campus culture.  Sage's student-athletes are committed to the guiding principals of Division III, Discover, Develop, Dedicate. Division III is a place where student-athletes can "follow your passions and develop your potential," through an approach that combines rigorous academics, competitive athletics and an opportunity to pursue other interests.

In 2010, just weeks before graduation, University of Virginia student-athlete Yeardley Love was killed in her residence hall by her former boyfriend.  The OneLove Foundation, founded by Yeardley's mother, was created to raise awareness about the signs of relationship violence and to empower bystanders to intervene. 

Two years ago, Sage invited the The OneLove Foundation to campus, where they presented the "Escalation Workshop".  It was powerful and moving and motivated Sage to do more to bring this topic out of the shadows.   In the Fall of 2016, Sage's SAAC created an "It's On Us" video, a reminder that each of us can play a role in preventing sexual assault. 

The Gators are also raising money to benefit the OneLove Foundation via their Crowdrise site at: https://www.crowdrise.com/gators-for-yeardley2/fundraiser/sagesaac 

Please donate and share the link with your friends and family.